Transparency: External Communication

Opponents of the use of animals in research are well-funded, organised, and co-ordinated. They promote a message to the public and policymakers that animal research is unethical, unnecessary, and old fashioned (EARA. EARA executive director speech at SECAL conference. ‘Hearts and minds’ approach needed to talk about animal research, EARA tells Spanish scientists. Available at: https://www.eara.eu/post/hearts-and-minds-approach-needed-to-talk-about-research-eara-tells-spanish-scientists , 2021). Allowing these claims therefore allows for a one-sided narrative to go unchallenged—essentially that animals in scientific research is torture, with no societal benefit. This has a severe impact on biomedical research and scientific understanding and consequently on the prospect of new life-saving treatments for currently incurable diseases. To counter this narrative, public confidence in biomedical research relies on the scientific community embracing an open and transparent approach as part of an ongoing dialogue about why and how animals are used in scientific, medical, and veterinary research and the enduring benefits of this. In recent years, there has been a cultural change taking place, prompted by the European Animal Research Association (EARA) (EARA website. Available at: https://www.eara.eu , 2023) founded in 2014, its members and other advocacy associations around the world that support the use of animals in research. The chapter seeks to empower animal care professionals and research institutions with the tools needed to develop a proactive communications strategy on animal research, with the aim of promoting a balanced and informed debate throughout society. Based on this guidance, this chapter includes a step-by-step guide to developing a communications strategy, and advice on how to handle those crisis situations that will inevitably occur.